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After nearly four years of collaboration, Ulta Beauty and Minneapolis-based Target jointly announced Thursday they will end their shop-in-shop partnership when the current agreement expires.
“We’re proud of our shared success with Ulta Beauty and the experience we’ve delivered together,” said Rick Gomez, chief commercial officer at Target, in a news release. “We look forward to what’s ahead and remain committed to offering the beauty experience consumers have come to expect from Target.”
The partnership, announced in late 2020 and launched in Target stores the following summer, brought Ulta-branded sections to more than 600 Target locations.
Each mini-shop, roughly 1,000 square feet, offered a curated assortment of Ulta products and brands. Target owned the inventory and staffed the spaces. The current agreement will end in August 2026, according to a news release.
“As we continue to expand our Ulta Beauty Unleashed plans, we’re confident our wide-ranging assortment, expert services and inspiring in-store experiences will reinforce our leadership in beauty and define the next chapter of our brand,” said Amiee Bayer-Thomas, chief retail officer at Ulta Beauty.
David Bellinger, a retail analyst for Mizuho Securities, said in a research note Thursday that Target’s “messy in-store operations” as well as retail theft and insufficient staffing likely contributed to the end of the partnership.
“Overall, we see losing the Ulta shop-in-shop relationship as a negative development and something else Target’s next CEO will have to grapple with,” Bellinger wrote.
In April, Ulta Beauty CEO Kecia Steelman said the retailer was pausing expansion of its Target hubs. The focus at the time was on improving the performance of the more than 600 installations to “unlock value for both of us collectively together.”
Beauty and wellness has been a strong sales category for Target, even as overall spending has slowed. In its most recent annual results, the retailer reported growth in beauty sales while other merchandise categories declined.
The retailer also said it was refreshing its product assortment with thousands of new items across key categories, including beauty, which will have 50 new brands entering stores, 90% of which will be priced under $20.
Target declined to comment about whether ending the partnership would lead to more private-label beauty products.
The company will report its second quarter earnings Wednesday.
Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joe Feldman wrote in an analyst note that he is expecting a 2.7% sales decline, citing consumer uncertainty related to “tariffs and new government policies.”
